2004 Volkswagen Touareg Review

Specifications

This Babys Got Style, Substance, Speed, and Unfortunately Teething Problems

I just couldnt get my head around how Volkswagen was somehow going to stick a 220 horsepower V6 into a 5,000 plus pound vehicle and make it entertaining to drive. That is until I drove it.

While the new 3.2-liter V6, that incidentally makes a maximum of 225 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm, is nowhere near as exciting during open throttle as the 310 horsepower 4.2-liter V8 that I first tested, I was expecting to be completely let down. After all, up to this point Id driven SUVs that weighed less and offered more power and torque, and they werent particularly stimulating on the open road.

What a shock it was when the big, bulky Touareg got up and went as quickly as it did in its new base form. OK, 9.3 seconds to 60 mph is hardly spine tingling, but Ive driven a lot slower. The larger engine at 7.5 seconds isnt all that quick either, but the guttural sound of its throaty V8 gives the Touareg the auditory sensation of a sports car.

Its also slower when compared to a BMW X5, Infiniti FX45 or Mercedes-Benz ML, in either base or V8 forms, but amazingly even the V6 Touareg out hustles the new V8-powered Lexus LX 470, which posts a 9.6 second run to 60 mph - and that one felt pretty good to me as well.

In reality, most people dont buy an SUV for its ability to charge to 60 mph in milliseconds, and therefore most wont have a problem with the performance of any of the utes I just mentioned, the V6-powered Touareg included. It gets off from a stoplight with adequate punch, and it passes at highway speeds with even greater ease.

Whats Volkswagens trick? Looking down the spec sheets of the more powerful, yet lighter rivals that didnt perform as well as the Touareg V6 and the only major discrepancy I could see was fewer gears in the automatic transmission. A 4- or 5-speed automatic couldnt make a competitors SUV perform that much worse than a 6-speed automatic, could it? Oh yes it can.

It makes sense really. The extra cogs allow the VW automatic to maintain the V6 engines sweet spot, or optimal rev range to maximize power and torque, more effectively. Therefore the engine is almost always producing maximum output when called upon to do so.

Likewise, when not called upon the 6-speed will shift sooner in the rev range on its way up to highway speeds, and therefore optimize fuel efficiency. At cruising speed the engine lulls along at lower revs than if fitted to a comparable 5-speed gearbox, which also improves gas mileage. So if some salesperson is trying to coax you into spending your hard earned dough on an SUV with only a 4-speed automatic by saying the recent upsurge in 5-, 6-, and now even 7-speed automatic gearboxes (the latter in select Mercedes-Benz and BMW vehicles) is nothing more than marketing hype, find another salesperson. This one feature can make a giant difference in performance and fuel economy.

The VW automatic also offers Tiptronic sequential shifting, one of the most time tested versions of this now prevalent technology in existence. Like in the V8-powered Touareg, Tiptronic suits the V6 extremely well, especially for holding the SUV in gears when tackling curvy paved roads. The sophisticated transmission included some pretty fancy digital mapping as well, allowing automatic downshifts when in the Drive position and the “S,” or Sport switch is activated. Like as in the V8, I would have appreciated steering wheel buttons for shifting the gears. How spoiled Ive become?

Looking back at that last paragraph I may have induced a chuckle or two regarding “tackling curvy paved roads” with this 5,000 plus pound behemoth. Surprisingly the Touareg is extremely agile, due to a stiff body structure, wide stance and sophisticated independent suspension setup. My particular test vehicle offered VWs optional air suspension system, which can allow the driver to adjust vehicle, and therefore ground clearance height from 6.37 to 11.8 inches. When lower to the ground, the center of gravity is of course also reduced, and therefore the SUV feels a lot sportier at high speed. That said the suspension automatically drops down to its lowest height when at speed, so you dont have to concern yourself with remembering to do it manually.

Is it as stimulating on pavement as BMWs X5 or Infinitis FX? No, not quite. But its still very good, and much better than the majority of its competitors. One thing the Touareg has going for it that these wanna-be 4×4s dont, however, is serious off-road capability. Just try to take an X5 or FX off the beaten path and see how far youll get. A Touareg with its adjustable suspension set to maximum height is about as capable as any sport utility in existence, less a Hummer H1 or Mercedes-Benz Unimog - the latter not really an SUV but more of an army personnel carrier. That means VW made sure of adding a bull-low gearing ratio, allowing the big beast to crawl over rocks and stumps, or wade through shallow creeks or thick mud.

And just how many Touareg customers will actually do that? Yeah I know, thats deserving of a laugh too. But just like Porsche 911 Turbo and Lamborghini Murciélago buyers who cant legally take their cars anywhere near their maximum top-speed capability, what matters is that the vehicle has the ability to do so. Volkswagen Touareg owners can take a special pride in the vehicles 4×4 skills even if they never personally experience more than a speed bump in the soccer field parking lot.

Another reason why the Touareg does so well off-road also benefits its on-pavement prowess in poor weather. Theres a full-load of sophisticated drivers aids such as front and rear electronically locking differentials, plus electronic stability control and traction control, improving at the limit performance and active safety in one fell swoop.

But crawl inside and all the rough and tough machismo of this vehicle takes a back seat to the stunning attention to every detail Volkswagen has masterfully applied. Every switch, each button and all knobs are slotted perfectly in their places, with not even a sloppy jiggle, side-to-side wiggle or loose fitting toggle to put off the pickiest of perfectionists. Its design is also first rate, easily as good as any premium rival and better than most.

The seats are wonderfully supportive, clad in rich leather in my well endowed tester and featuring a multitude of power adjustments. Rear legroom is adequate if the front seats are pushed forward, but if anyone tall is driving or riding shotgun then those in the rear are bound to feel claustrophobic, at least around the knees. Head, hip and shoulder room is quite good for most body types.

One of the reasons rear seat legroom is tight is because of the vehicles ample cargo capacity, configured to allow up to 71 cubic feet when the 60/40 split rear seatbacks are folded flat.

Whats not to like? Well two things I suppose, but both arent immediately noticeable. The first is the Touaregs price. At $35,900 the seats arent even leather, and such items as a sliding front center armrest with 2 level storage, driver and front passenger lumbar support, 12 way power driver seat, memory for driver seat and mirrors, and wood trim on the center console arent part of the deal. All this, and leather, costs $2,200 extra as part of the Premium Package. The Premium Package II adds manually actuated rear side sunshades to the aforementioned Premium Package for an extra $240, worth it if you have small children.

Base Touaregs are quite well equipped, however, with such niceties as dual-zone auto climate control, a 10-speaker AM/FM/CD audio system with steering wheel controls, cruise control, and an integrated garage door opener so when someone steels your car they can ransack your house too, how convenient.

Load up the Touareg with all the options my tester featured and you might get dizzy at the stratospheric height, though. A locking rear diff will cost you $550, while that oh so cool air suspension will set you back an additional $2,600.

A subwoofer and 300-watt power amplifier will cost another $500, while OnStar fetches help if you need it, but before you do $699 on top of the price of your Touareg. In order to help yourself in finding your way around the city VWs optional navigation system costs a cool $2,650. Want to find that address in the dark, Bi-xenon headlights will do the trick at $750. Oops, wrong driveway. Now youve got to back up without hitting that rock wall. The electronic parking aid youll need will tack an additional $600 to the window sticker, tallying up to a significant $46,189! And thats without the V8! That one will force $55,089 out of your bank account, or more with interest if you plan on financing or leasing. The top price tag will increase even further if Volkswagen ever gets around to offering a dash-mounted multi-CD changer or a DVD entertainment system.

While none of the prices for any luxury add-on is outrageously high, and each will be appreciated by the customer that wants or needs the convenience a particular feature offers, the final price is steep for a Volkswagen. But the car itself, despite the badge on the grille and rear liftgate, is every bit as good as any premium rival. So I suppose what is needed is a paradigm shift with regards to exactly what the letters VW stand for.

But other than that I love it right? Exactly! Well, that and Volkswagens deplorable reliability rating. Depending on which online forum you visit or what third party survey you read, VW products get more rants than raves, rating somewhere below mid-pack or near last place in initial quality, dependability or customer satisfaction. One example, J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS), has Volkswagen only managing to eke past Isuzu, Daewoo (which doesnt exist anymore), Kia and Land Rover to take 33rd place out of 37 brands. Its position remains constant at least, having achieved 33rd in 2003, and it does improve its problems per 100 vehicles (PP100) ranking by 5 points, from 391 to 386.

In the corporate VDS ranking (which also includes Audi) Volkswagen placed 12th, the worst faring European automaker with 366 PP100. Not all is doom and gloom mind you, as the automaker actually managed to move one position up through the ranks from its 13th placement last year, and improved its PP100 rating by 12 increments from its previous score of 378.

How did it fare in the J.D. Powers 2004 Initial Quality Study (IQS)? Volkswagen once again places well below the industry average in this years corporate ranking. Its 10th position on the grid is identical to last year, as is its 141 PP100 score. How it arrives at this identical ranking and PP100 score is a bit of a miracle, however, as the Volkswagen brand dropped in initial quality while the upscale Audi nameplate moved up the charts. While its one of few automakers to show no numerical improvement, at least it isnt sliding backwards.

Volkswagen was in 24th place out of 36 brands in 2003 IQS as ranked by nameplate, just behind Hyundai. While Hyundai has improved in 2004 VWs PP100 fell from 143 to 164 this year, and with the fall landed in second to last place. Only Hummer faired worse, with Volkswagen being beat out by Kia, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and every domestic brand.

What is more interesting, is that Porsche went from 7th place last year, the top German brand with a PP100 of 117, to just a single notch above Volkswagen in 2004, third from last with a dismal PP100 of 159. What does Porsche have to do with Volkswagen? Everything, currently that is. The only thing that has changed at Porsche is the Cayenne SUV, and now the revered premium brand sells more SUVs than sports cars. The Cayenne, if you didnt already know, is built from its tires right up to its roof rack in the same VW factory that turns out the Touareg, sans V8 engines (the V6 is a VW engine and comes out of the plant installed). To make matters worse Porsche also dove from 2nd place in last years corporate ranking to last place in the 2004 study. Ouch!

I dont think I have to spell this out any in any more detail. If you believe J.D. Powers 2004 IQS results, which incidentally are based on responses from more than 51,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2004 model-year cars and trucks purchased in the U.S., surveyed after 90 days of ownership, then it appears Volkswagen is facing serious quality issues. Based on Porsches fall from grace, at least with respect to quality, the Touareg doesnt seem immune from VWs overall problems either.

So when push comes to shove, VW has built a fabulous SUV that appears to have some compromising initial quality problems. Too bad, because if I was looking for a new luxury sport utility it would high on my list - even with its steep price. Its one of the only SUVs to offer sporty handling dynamics on pavement and over-the-top off-road capabilities, while serving it all up in one of the most enticing interiors in the business. I love VWs truck, but its potential for problems scares me.

Hopefully Volkswagen will be able to wrestle the gremlins that are causing such problems before the upcoming 7-passenger Touareg hits the market, expected later this year. Also, the only entry-level brand (if I can still call it that) to offer turbodiesel engines in cars is debuting its monstrously capable diesel V10 now, which reportedly offers much improved fuel economy over the V8 while crushing almost all competitors in straight-line performance.

But the V10 will be even more expensive than todays pricy V8, and therefore the new V6 remains the value leader. And the sheer amount of Touaregs currently on the road is sign enough that VW fans are willing to pay the price of entry. But will they buy a second one when their lease is up? That is the determining question that only time will answer.